Data lockouts cost shops billions

Independent shops in Virginia are backing a federal right-to-repair push, telling lawmakers that when automakers restrict repair information, they have to send cars to dealerships for jobs they are perfectly capable of doing. NBC5 reported on Piedmont Tire and Auto, where one owner put it plainly: if they cannot do the work, it is because the factory will not release the information, not because they lack the skill.

The costs land on customers. One shop described a case where being blocked from a programming task meant hauling the car to a dealer and back, adding $1,200 to the bill for work the shop could have handled. Industry figures cited in the report say more than eight in ten independent shops send at least one vehicle a month to a dealer for this reason, and a 2024 Auto Care Association study put the annual cost to independents at $3.1 billion.

Why it matters: This could reinforce momentum behind the current bill, the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act, which has cleared a House committee but not yet reached a floor vote. It is narrower than the original REPAIR Act, mostly writing existing voluntary commitments into law and letting the FTC enforce them. Automakers argue the information is already available and raise security concerns. For some shops, it is worth considering how often you refer work out for access reasons, since that number is exactly what this debate is about.

Worldpac Chief Commercial Officer Dominic Garcia told shop owners at the company's STX event that hiring more technicians will not fix the capacity crunch, and pointed to a $30 billion backlog of deferred maintenance across the industry. His argument is that the gap is about how much work gets out of the bays you already have, not how many bodies are in them.

He described shops that put screens at every bay showing each tech's hours billed against hours worked, essentially a live scoreboard for the whole shop. In his experience, that visibility lifts performance across the team, not just at the bottom. He also noted a pattern owners are likely feeling directly: average repair orders are rising while car counts are down compared with last year, which he ties back to that deferred-maintenance gap.

Why it matters: This may signal a shift in where the pressure sits as vehicles get more complex. Garcia said roughly half of vehicles now need some kind of reprogramming when a mechanical part is replaced, which changes what a job actually involves. He was blunt that shops not investing in training will fall behind. For some shops, it is worth weighing whether measuring productivity and coaching service advisors on the affordability conversation would do more than another hire.

Lucid is recalling 27,185 Air sedans covering model years 2022 through 2026 after finding that the software controlling low-voltage exterior lighting circuits may not cut power quickly enough when current runs too high. Left unprotected, those circuits can overheat and produce smoke or fire, and in some cases the headlights or taillights stop working correctly. In its filing with NHTSA, Lucid reported three fires believed to be related to the problem, along with several reports of smoke.

The fix is a software update sent over the air, which lowers the trip point on the circuit protection and stops a faulted circuit from re-energizing during the same key cycle. Most affected cars had already installed it when the recall was filed. Owners still running older software are being told to park outside and away from buildings and other vehicles until they update, with notices going out in October.

Why it matters: This may signal how differently recalls play out on software-defined vehicles. A fire risk that would once have meant a dealer visit and replaced hardware is now largely closed out before most owners hear about it. That cuts both ways for shops, since the repair itself never reaches a bay, but the owner questions often do. For some shops, it is worth considering whether a quick software-status check at intake on newer EVs is worth building into your process.

🇲🇽 Mexico's auto parts sector grew about 10% year over year through May and now supplies roughly 44% of all auto parts the U.S. imports from abroad, according to the country's parts manufacturers association.

👶 NHTSA announced a recall of more than 114,600 Britax car seats across six models, where a screw can loosen and cause the carry handle to partially detach, with a remedy kit still in the works.

🚗 Honda's 2027 Prelude tests whether buyers will pay $42,400 for a hybrid coupe, roughly $10,000 more than the Miata, BRZ, and GR86 it competes against.

📷 A Bloomberg analysis found 21 million vehicles have been recalled for faulty backup cameras since 2018, with Stellantis recently adding another 848,511 over radio software that can keep the rear camera image from appearing.